My Beacon Academia
by ArcMeow
Summary: Rescued by All Might as a boy, Jaune grows up dreaming of becoming a mighty Huntsman, and a hero more so. AU Crossover Origin story.
1. Prologue

Snarls and claws chased after the small boy.

His small legs burned with the effort, putting one foot in front of the other more out of instinct than of conscious thought. He'd long succumbed to the numbness, his throat hoarse and lungs just as spent. Keep running, and keep quiet were the last things she'd told him, so, run he did, far away from the shadows—as far as possible from the monsters. He stumbled on roots and uneven rocks and his knees dashed on dried ground and rough stone. To stop was to die, and he was told to live.

The boy chased after the light, running away from the coming night and clinging to the haven of what he could see. His sleeves caught on exposed branches and lines of pain raked against his skin from thorns and broken ends too small or close to see.

Onwards he went, one leg after the other crunching against dried leaves and padding against the ground. He couldn't breathe in enough air no matter how much he took in, and his pounding heart kept pushing against his ears with each step. Cold winds blew against his face and sweat trailed down his forehead and soaked his back. One foot in front of the next, another foot further from the monsters, another foot closer to escape. He was running, he was getting away. Everything will be fine soon enough.

Then he tripped—and he hung in the air as the dirt from his shoes floated slowly upwards in front of his eyes. His arms and legs flailed without a hold utterly useless in that fleeting moment.

There was burst of pain as he hit the ground and everything went black—but the agony brought him back right after. He nudged himself off his face, a mark of white hot agony screaming against his now pounding head. He tried scrambling for his feet but his legs wouldn't listen, and part of the bone from his left arm had exited his skin. He growled something fierce through clenched teeth, holding fast to his promise to stay quiet.

His chest heaved with never enough air, his heart was now screaming at him. He had to get away, he promised he'd escape, he was a good boy and his mother would get mad at him if he didn't follow what she said. He tried moving again, struggling to move and forcing his limbs and pulling at the exposed bone and he'd nearly shouted in agony.

He stopped his struggling… and a whimper escaped from his lips, the tears catching up from where he'd left them far behind. They burned against his cheeks, and he was clamping his jaws so tight he started tasting blood from his gums. He had to get away, he had to move.

The sun was disappearing behind the trees now, what little light there was leaving their places against his skin—the warmth going with it. His breathing slowed enough for him to draw air, a small puff of mist escaping when he exhaled. His shirt was wet against his skin, blood and sweat mixing with the lingering agony.

The sun seemed brighter with that last moment of day and he closed his eyes. "I don't want to die," he said. Too soft to carry over the howling winds.

"Everything's fine now," someone said.

Jaune opened his eyes and saw the sun standing in front of him.

"Why?" the sun said. "Because I am here."


	2. Chapter 1

Jaune awoke with a chill in his bones and a frantically beating heart.

A mixture of snarling shadows and the running sun flashed through his head as he opened his eyes to a still dark room. He took a moment to just lay there with his sheets beneath his fingers, he felt the warmth of his body against his bed. Jaune brought up his hands and slapped himself with a snap, cupping his stinging cheeks in the solid sensation of his palms.

"We're getting there," he said with a rush of air.

He sat up on his bed and yawned with all the force of a cat stretching its legs. A second passed, before he threw his legs over the side of his bed and the cold floor touched his toes. The past was in the past now, and all that's left was to take his fears and shove it all up to burn in the great big pyre of determination. Jaune nodded to himself and got up to his feet, the beginnings of a beep interrupted by a swift press of the stop button on his Scroll by his study table. He smirked at the tiny victory, and a quick glance said it was five in the morning.

He did a quick few stretches, pulling a bit on his triceps and quads, then moved his shoulders and hips around for a second or two. Satisfied, he dropped onto his fingertips and toes without a sound and started doing push-ups to a metronome's pace. Up and down, up and down, a strong push up and a clap, "One."

Rinse and repeat.

He kept going until the first signs strain and counted off at forty-one before stopping: one higher than yesterday but two lower than the day before. Jaune pushed off from the ground and started running in place for a minute before shifting to a set of jumping jacks for another. He finished with some more stretches before cooling down to some shuffling motions to keep his body limber and his blood pumping.

A light sheen of sweat coated his forehead and he took off his shirt in front of the mirror: his still growing body wasn't chiseled as hard, but the taut muscles underneath told of the foundations he'd laid towards his goal. He clenched his fist, noting how the tendons pulled against sinew and bone with the rest of his forearm. He further tensed his muscles, hardening the gesture up to his biceps before thrusting his arm forward with resolve. Jaune smiled at the poster next to his wardrobe: All Might with a hearty smile in all his glory against a backdrop of stars and stripes.

If recruitment posters had a standard, then this was it. The United Schools Alliance, Remnant's most elite Hunter association recruited only from the top graduating teams from the four Huntsman and Huntress training schools—and sometimes going so far as to headhunt promising individuals from the preps. They also recommended any promising upstarts to their school of choice should they prove good enough.

Jaune stood with hands akimbo and flexed everything he could before smiling his best smile, flashing a wide grin against the mirror then laughed in his most mirthful and booming from the belly laugh.

"Everything's fine now," he said with all the brightness of the coming morning. "I am here."

All Might—Oro Magri, proud alumni of Beacon Huntsman Academy of Vale—had saved him that fateful day all those years ago, and it was high time he paid the debt forward. The blond took a pair of trainers from his dresser and put them on, gearing up for his morning routine.

"I'll be going ahead, mom," he said to the picture on his drawer.

He was out the door no later than five-oh-seven and blazing a steady path around the village. Jaune breathed in and pushed more strength into his legs, climbing the hill by the Grundle's place and powering through the rest of his sprint. He slowed down on the right turn to a modest jog, his legs burning from the exertion while letting his stamina recover before speeding up again to a run into the cul-de-sac. A few seconds passed and the burning lessened before he dove for the ground and into a series of burpees to further drive the cold of dawn away.

His morning set consisted of a ten-kilometer run every morning together with whatever other aerobics he could squeeze in, followed by a hundred push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups before six-thirty. On weekends without school, he'd usually increase his running and end his exercises by seven-thirty before coming home. A sound mind in a sound body made for a well-balanced Huntsman.

He hopped up and down from the park benches, then did laterals by the fire hydrant the Yves' cat liked sleeping on top of. He did his pulls up on the McGrant's old oak, his push ups with his legs raised on its roots, and his legs locked under the same root for the sit-ups.

It was all for his goal of getting into Beacon and becoming a hero like Oro.

He finished by the time the time the sun came up, six thirty-two according to his Scroll. He kept a portion of his plan constant, but squeezed in more and more with each passing day. Shaking things up and always working smarter was the way to go and keep growing.

Jaune returned to their house with the smell of frying bacon and eggs in the air. He passed by the kitchen and saw the same blue eyes meet his own. "Good morning dad," he said.

Now that he was older, Jaune didn't miss the same lines running along their jaws except where his pointed upwards, his dad's pointed down. His father's apron was covered in grease stains and faded hearts, the lacing on them coming undone by the shoulders. They were his mother's, and the marinara he'd spilled on it from the Elder knows when was still there. A small reminder of the simpler times. He smiled through the memory and at his old man.

Enciel blinked at the greeting, hands going through the motions of keeping the food from burning before turning to him with a cloud's pace. "Done for the morning?" his father drawled.

His father was away on a mission when the incident happened. Theirs was a common sob story in the kingdoms, and the bittersweet irony of the people the protectors wanted protected most from the things they protected everyone else from getting hurt was not lost on all the widows, widowers, and orphans through the generations.

An hour made all the difference for their family that day, and after Edelweiss had passed… his father was never quite the same since. If old man Grakh's story was to be believed, Enciel cleaned up their entire town on his own that day, felling larger Grimm left and right with Crocea Mors while the rest of the response team focused on rescuing everyone else.

"I'm ready any time," Jaune said. Younger him came to his father for training the moment he was discharged, and the man pushed him hard to the brink everyday since. Enciel only let up after he qualified into Signal, and even then, the man kept driving him always further forward.

His father folded up the stain covered apron like he would Vale's flag before a slow creep of the lips turned into a smile. "Come on, I'm almost done," Enciel said, his voice had iron in it.

Jaune landed on his ass for the umpteenth time before a foot thundered down towards his chest. He shoved himself out of the way with a quick kick against the grass before pushing with his hands and jumping back three steps. His father dashed after him and lashed out with a punch—that turned to two, three, seven shadows as it flew.

The blond squinted at the flickering motions before dodging left where the blur was thinnest, but one of the shadows hit his hip and he was flung back. Jaune hit a tree and the impact shook its trunk as the wind left his lungs. His aura took the brunt of the damage but inertia collected its due. The problem with aura was that it functioned as an inviolable shell. Good, because you can get shot without getting a hole punched through you. Bad, because all that forces needs to go somewhere else. It was a lot like comparing a bouncing rubber ball to an egg. On hitting the floor, the egg would break and the ball would bounce. That said, getting used to having things shaken up with one's aura on was one of the foundations of being a Huntsman.

He hacked for air and shook off his swimming vision in time to roll away from a flying kick, then an elbow drop, then again from what should've been a breakdancing flare except for how his father's leg whistled through the wind. The heaviness from his earlier hit was already starting to fade. On top of protection, aura also helped heal and prevent damage in the broad sense. Huntsmen and Huntresses rarely fall sick, and it's also thanks to their auras how they're able to shrug off otherwise lethal mishaps, like getting stabbed or falling from a few tens of storeys.

"You can't keep dodging forever, Jaune," Enciel said. His body seemed to flicker in the light, each motion carrying with it a subtle lag. "That's not how Vale's strongest Huntsman would do this."

Jaune grinned. All Might had decades to polish his skills and maybe more than two lifetimes' worth of fighting experience—not to mention learning from Beacon and Signal when he was younger. It was a bit much to compare someone who'd only been training for the last seven years to someone like that.

"I don't have to win dad," Jaune said through heavy breaths. "I just have to make sure you don't."

His old man leapt for him and landed with a stomp, Jaune long gone from having jumped away before. However, his father snapped another flickering backhand before he could clear the gap, and he was blown back again, this time face first. Enciel had a toothed grin on against his three-day old stuble. "Good," he said, "it's stupid to stand your ground against a clearly superior opponent."

"I learned from the best," Jaune said.

Jaune kept up his desperate dodging, tanking what blows he couldn't avoid and keeping himself as small a target as possible. It was a tight rope's act of keeping costs to a minimum, and something was bound to give sooner or later.

"Running away won't always solve your problems, Jaune." Enciel charged at him again, but his entire body flickered a meter away from the blond, causing him to hesitate for a moment before leaping to the right. Mid-flight, Enciel grabbed his foot in one swift motion and whipped him hard at the ground.

Jaune bounced with a heavy thud, kicking up grass and clumps of dirt before falling flat on his face. He quickly rolled away, ears ringing and head light and spinning. Jaune pulled hard from within and the dizziness started to come under control, his aura rousing into a rising tide.

His father charged again, this time flickering the entire way—and the distribution of images was wider than he'd ever seen before. Enciel taught him the only truth necessary in battle: if you can't hit hard enough to kill in one blow, then you better damn sure know how to dodge.

But there were also moments where you just had to make a stand.

Jaune grit his teeth and pushed as much aura as he could into his fist before lashing out with a strike. His hand glowed white against the shadows from his father's Semblance and in that brief moment, seven Enciels coalesced into one wreathed in overlapping images.

He hit a wall of a man and Jaune's entire body shook from the impact, his stomach turning where they stood and his head whipping back from the recoil. Enciel stared into his soul where their attacks clashed, a feral expression taunting him to try hitting his father again. Jauned obliged and reared back for another haymaker—

—and the next thing he knew he was splayed back against the ground, eyes to the sky and wit too dull to even remember how he ended up where he did. There was also a nagging pounding from his crown down to his temples.

Enciel entered his field of view with a frown and a Scroll that displayed his and his father's faces. His was greyed out and had an 'X' over it while Enciel had a barely touched green bar under his. In the middle of the two portraits was a number that displayed seven minutes and five seconds left.

"You rely too much on your aura," Enciel said. His father's clinical precision with dealing damage always brought him to the brink of just before his aura collapsed. Both to avoid hurting him, as well as to make sure Jaune could recover a bit before school started physicals in the afternoon.

Jaune's limbs wouldn't listen and he figured he was hit hard enough to jolt his head. "That's still two seconds lower than my record," he said. Tiny victories were all he could get right now, but pile up enough of them and they still added up. "And I know I shouldn't have taken the bait when you taunted me."

"You pick up fast," his father said, "but you're also too eager and confident of your abilities."

Jaune frowned at that, if any, he knew full well how weak he was compared to the Huntsman before him. "I think I was smart enough not to fall for the obvious traps. Or, at least most of them."

"You are," Enciel said, "but you also have to remember that real life won't hold back for you, Jaune. Aura isn't magic." His father stretched out a hand at him and pulled him up from the ground.

Jaune… nodded slowly to that. The point of these spars was to get him accustomed to the heat of battle and train him to always keep a level head. And him losing sight of that was taken care of by the unspoken second point, to beat down his arrogance. There was an abundance of Huntsmen and Huntresses who lost their auras during crucial moments, and not a lot of them lived to tell the tale. He sighed, better learn now than later. "I understand, dad."

The hard lines on Enciel's glare softened into something between worry and apology, lips pressed thin but not clasped. He let out a breath as the shadows stopped their skittering and the mess of colors on his shirt separated into stripes, revealing the colors of the rainbow. "As long as you do, Jaune," he said. "Now go take a shower and get some breakfast, you've still got school."

"Yes dad," he said.

Jaune turned back and started padding his way to the house on wobbling legs. His aura should recover in a bit and repair the rest of the damage later on, this was simply the price of learning and letting things get to his head.

"And Jaune," his father called out from behind.

He stopped. "Yeah, dad?"

"You're doing alright, okay." His old man was scratching the back of his head, his scraggly black hair rustling in the gentle breeze. He put on some semblance of a smile and said, "Just be patient, okay? For me, at least."

Jaune gave him a firm nod and said, "I know, dad, and thanks."

Jaune finished his breakfast, took a shower after, then got dressed in his usual Pumpkin Pete hoody and whatever bottoms he found first. He was out the door by seven forty and running in a pair of khaki shorts and sneakers. Signal was a good twenty minutes away, and with his aura back up to around ten percent he'd make good time before classes started at eight thirty.

His bag was strapped down tight against his back and didn't rattle in the slightest as he tore through the pavement. Jaune's legs flew over the ground, his breathing regular and his aura burning strong within his legs. There were as many ways to use aura as there were ways to dance, each with its own advantages and intricacies. Earlier, he devoted most of his aura to defense and healing, making sure he had a solid wall between him and whatever his father dished out and that he'd walk away from most of whatever Enciel threw at him. This time, he pushed more of it to his legs, reinforcing his muscles and bones beyond normal capacity and using that to run.

The four fundamentals of aura usage were: Ten; to wrap oneself with their aura; Zetsu, to suppress and to help heal; Ren to increase one's aura output; and Hatsu, to release aura outside one's body. Right now, he was using a combination of Ten and Ren called Gyo: he was wrapping his legs with more aura than the rest of his body and increasing how much was concentrated there to increase his running speed.

The sun peaked through the Evergreen mountain range, light beams cutting through the cool morning and illuminating the glass shards in the road. Jaune ran on a path with a million colors and the song of the wind in the air to a metronome of rubber soles and asphalt. Patch was a quiet, scenic little place insulated from the perils of most of Remnant. Like a wall, the Evergreen mountain spanned most of the island's Northern to Western borders that kept both inclement weather and Grimm alike from the mainland.

Jaune ran with a purpose, exerting as much aura as he could control to further cut away from his time limit. Moving to Patch was Enciel's first order of business when he'd asked him for training, a quick decision to make since Hunters made quite a living off bounties. Though he figured keeping him somewhere closer to a stationed population of Huntsmen and Huntresses nearby was also one of those reasons.

The wind was whistling in his ears now, his acceleration messing up his hair. He could already see Signal in the distance and the shadow of a few others like him also taking the more scenic route, though some of the more regular students took the bus. Jaune didn't understand them doing so, since who'd bother riding something so clumsy and slow when you can run almost just as fast and with full control.

Jaune picked up speed, the whistling now a steady hum, powering through the last few hundred meters into Signal before pushing a spike of aura within. He jumped a moment after, feeling the wind under his arms and pass into and out of his clothes. Jaune cleared the school's walls with his hoodie flapping about behind him.

The blond landed with a short roll over the courtyard before recovering into brisk jog and finally stopping. He checked his Scroll, eight-oh-nine and just in time to pick up a quick snack. Growing hunters in training like him burned through a lot of calories in a day, since they fueled both their bodies and auras. Likewise, Huntsmen and Huntresses also eat a lot to compensate for their monstrous energy consumption.

Jaune paid for a pair of protein bars, one for now and another for just before physicals. He then went for his lockers and picked up his books: history, science, and math, plus his grip trainers and dumbbells. Just because he was in class didn't mean he didn't have any time to train anymore.

"Good morning, Jaune," greeted a girl.

He turned and saw Nori Gremburr with her cousin Vida Greiss, the pair of the taller by a head girl in black and purple and the blond pixie in green was a common topic among the guys.

"Good morning too Nori, Vida," he said, already getting started on his grippers.

"Yo," Vida said. The motherly brunette was the more stoic of the pair and usually got Nori out of trouble, which was a common thing she got herself into, as well as served as their class' unperturbable class president.

On the other hand, Nori was the socialite and a friend to everyone she meets. Though her idea of fun sometimes deviates from the norm. "Always the busy bee," said Nori. "anyway, the rest of the class is planning a gift for Mr. Branwen's birthday. We're collecting funds for the party."

"Sure," he said. Jaune fished for his wallet. "How much are we talking about?"

"Ten from everyone," Nori said, "no need for anything too extravagant. And besides, all we really need to do is get Mr. Delmonico to buy us a bottle for the guy."

"Unfortunately," Vida said with a sigh.

Jaune passed the card to the younger of the two, and Vida added it to the rest of the pile from their class. Nori's height was a sore point for her, and no need to drive the point harder.

Mr. Qrow Branwen was their homeroom teacher and Yang Xiao Long's uncle. Normally, one would expect some form of favoritism with such an arrangement, but strangely enough, Yang seems more embarassed by the idea than proud. Though having an openly alcoholic family member probably doesn't count as a badge of honor.

"Thank you Jaune," Nori said before waving goodbye. "See you in class."

Vida bowed to him. "We've still got rounds to do."

Jaune clenched his grippers to a steady pace: squeeze, squeeze, slow close. Rinse and repeat. "See you later," he said.


	3. Chapter 2

"Alright, can anyone tell me the three theories on where Dust came from?" said instructor Meitnerium. She had a diagram on the board with a diamond denoting the four basic elements of Dust: fire, wind, water, and earth. Her silver hair pulled tight into a pony tail swayed when she turned to the class.

Jaune's hand was up before anyone else's.

"Anyone but Jaune," she said. No one else was raising their hand. "Please."

The room was silent save for the creaking of Jaune's grip trainer and a soft breeze that whistled by.

"Aunt Dimi, why not just let Jaune answer." Nori sighed as she slumped against her desk.

Beside her was Vida taking notes and glancing about their classmates. The brunette's lips twitched before she slowly raised her hand.

"That's instructor Meitnerium to _you_ young lady, and anyone else besides Vida too," she said. A moment of silence passed before she pinched the bridge of her nose, and glared at the general direction of the class.

"Fine," she said. "Verde, you do it."

The boy with spiky hair and green frame glasses was nudged awake by his seat mate Euclase, pale blue eyes wide with fear. Verde's neck snapped to the board before settling on instructor Meitnerium whose arms were crossed with one finger tapping against her elbow. He looked back. "Jaune has his hand up though?" Verde said.

Jaune heard Euclase's expression go from 'please don't say anything stupid' to 'oh crap' in that slow span of a breath.

"Yeah, well Jaune's not number one in academics because he doesn't know," she said with a grimace.

Jaune pursed his lips at that.

"And Vida?" Verde said.

Instructor Meitnerium shot her niece a glare, and Vida slowly put down her hand down again before the lady shook her head.

Verde was furrowing his eyebrows now, displeasure practically dripping from his frown. "Nori?" he offered.

"I know the answer," the girl said all chipper. "But aunt Dimi will have my butt if I do."

"She's not wrong," the lady said. Patch was a small community, and them in the Hunter's course more so. The Huntsmen and Huntresses who taught here usually had families of their own who followed in their footsteps.

There was Mr. Branwen and Mr. Xiao Long who was Yang's uncle and father respectively, then Ms. Meitnerium who was Nori and Vida's aunt from the mother and father's side respectively, and lastly was Euclase with his dad, Mr. Gallagher.

Jaune raised his other hand now, this time with a dumbell he'd lean back behind his head, twist left and right from the forearm, then swirl around from his wrist before coming back to a straight up position. His other hand had the grip trainer and again it was the only sound left after.

Instructor Meitnerium stared at Jaune. "At least you're consistent," she said. "Give it up Verde, or would you rather face Yang or Nori in the spars?"

The fair lady had on a wicked smile that showed most of her teeth, and Verde frowned with the fury of Mr. Branwen denied his alcohol.

"Oh wow, you just used my name as a threat," said Yang with a smile. She slammed her fists together and grinned at Verde who could only sigh at what transpired.

The boy stood up. "Fine," he said. "But I'll remember this." He narrowed his eyes at the instructor before continuing, "One of the theories is that Dust is the crystallized energy from Remnant's ley lines."

"Good," their teacher said. "And what's the evidence for this theory?"

Verde pursed his lips before continuing, "That Dust is mined from the earth and deposit formations match that of the formation of minerals and ores."

"And the cons?"

"It doesn't explain how Dust interacts with Semblances, and there's also the fact that Dust doesn't work outside of Remnant's atmosphere."

"Thank you, Verde," she said with a smile, but if looks could maim or horribly injure…

"And the other two?" instructor Meitnerium said. Still no hands. "If I don't see any, I'm extending the offer to the next two I pick. I'm sure Qrow will be more than happy to ride with this."

Everyone raised their hands, which sort of defeated the point—but Jaune wouldn't say that out loud.

"Anyone who makes a mistake will spar with Jaune," she added.

Only a quarter of the hands remained in the air.

Jaune frowned.

"Auri?" said instructor Meitnerium with a smile.

The brunette removed herself from her hunched position over her desk, colored pencils clattering to the floor with the movement. Everyone just stared at the small mess, again with the grip trainers creaking in the background. Her seatmate Sphene picked up after her and she muttered an apology before saying, "Another theory is that Dust comes from the souls of other beings instead of the ley lines, though it follows the same mechanism."

"And…?" instructor Meitnerium said.

"Part of the theory is due to Dust reacting to a people's auras, and another is historians pointing at most major deposits being on or near the site of previous civilizations," Auri said.

"But…?"

"But attempts at verifying this information is impossible due to the Dust being too volatile to subject to radiocarbon dating, and… it kinda makes the Dust go boom."

There were a few laughs at that.

"And the last one?" She looked around. "Yes, Sphene?"

"The last one is a controversial theory, since its more a legend than science. But then again, here we are talking about souls as reality and we've got this strange material that violates the law of conservation of mass. Not to mention the Grimm in general that just disintegrate into thin air on death—even when they don't exhibit any similarities with conventional life except for intelligence and learni—"

"Sphene, please stick to the question."

The guy was easily excited and was Verde's usual partner when it comes to the more philosophical aspects of life on Remnant, namely, how the Grimm, Dust, and Aura just doesn't make sense from the point of view of science.

"Yes ma'am." He coughed into his hand. "Right, so particular point to the theory hails from one of the more known legends: the Tale of the Two Brothers. The Elder created life, the Younger created destruction, near the end and frustrated with the tenacity of life, the Younger supposedly created the Grimm to destroy everything…"

Their teacher rolled her eyes at him again and gestured to wrap it up.

"Fine, Elder and Younger create humankind, the Grimm keep killing them off, the Elder creates Dust to help them. There."

"Sorry Sphene, but you'll keep going if I don't stop you.," she said.

There was a collective nod in the room.

"You too Auri?" he said with an overly grand gesture.

Auri gave him a light chop to the head. "Behave."

This time everyone chuckled at the display.

"Teacher, the stupid couple is at it again!" said Nori, her voice carrying in the air like silver bells.

" _…_ _hormonal teenagers,_ " said instructor Meitnerium, but her murmuring wasn't subtle in the least.

"Man," Verde said, "This is why…"—Euclase next to him had the look of someone with his life flashing before his eyes—"…you're still single."

Euclase went pale and the temperature near literally dropped in the room. Everyone was quiet and even Jaune had to stop squeezing his grip trainers. The instructor was frozen in place, and he felt the hairs on his skin stand on end.

A crackling sound filled the air and the smell of ozone nipped at his nose.

"Ah," Vida said, "crap."

#

It was no surprise when Nori and Verde were called down to the arena during combat class. Miss Meitnerium really liked using her nieces as bargaining chips, and Yang did it for the laughs, all the same, mister Branwen also enjoyed the comedy of it all.

"I'm so sorry," Nori said. She was twirling her golden trident around her with a glow collecting at its tip as she gave chase to her prey. Verde, for his part, transformed his guandao into a rifle and started shooting at the five-flat girl, but her small frame only added to the elusiveness of the twirls and flares she did to inch by inch close the gap between them.

Nori used her trident's heavy blade to spin about and collect momentum to fuel her semblance before unleashing it on her opponent. Her tactic was simple, and it relied heavily on her skills to pull it off. But it was also that simplicity that made it so hard to counter.

"Just try not to get hit too bad," she said, cutting into Verde's space with another flip and her trident crashing down on top of him. Verde was forced to flash away from her, trails of green lightning left in his wake as the spot where he stood exploded from the tiny girl's blow.

Jaune took notes on anything and everything that could further his goal and today's bouts were no different. Nori was a close-up fighter with the agility to move in and out at the drop of a coin while Verde preferred his range and control, sniping from a short distance.

Verde fired at Nori from an awkward angle and nicked her in the shoulder and chest twice. She was shaken up with the shots and her aura was taken down by eight percent, but she recovered by vaulting closer to him using her weapon. Verde had to flash away again.

Verde on the other hand was the mid-range version of Nori's high risk high reward style. His semblance allowed him to move approximately two meters straight towards any direction, but he was limited to its number of uses before needing to recharge. It was a sore point for him that the concept of recharging in real life was a thing, though according to him it was like a pool of energy runs out separate from his aura.

Nori charged straight for her opponent and shifted her weapon into its shotgun form before unloading on Verde. He flashed again, but this time to on top of her and shifted his weapon back to its guandao form and chopped down on the girl.

However, Nori shifted hers as well and mid-strike, the prongs of her weapon caught Verde's and with a swift twist of the shaft—his weapon left his hands.

And Nori smacked him down towards the ground. Verde's spear landed a few meters away from him. His back was flat against the ground and he raised a hand. "I forfeit," he said.

To the side, instructor Meitnerium tsked. Jaune pretended he didn't hear that. Thankfully, Verde was able to draw Nori to a pretty good outcome—though it also made him wonder whether it was deliberate on the class' schemer.

Nori helped Verde get up and the two made their way back with the girl smiling like an angel and the boy with a triumphant smirk. Together, they were a menace during the mock team battles, but against each other it all boiled down to a game of cat and mouse. With Nori usually doing the chasing—same as with anyone, that is.

"Right," instructor Branwen said, "Verde, you running away would've been funnier with some screaming, but we'll take what we can get. Your melee fighting needs some focus, but you can't avoid close combat forever, better get better now and not regret it later."

Verde gave a firm nod and said, "Yes, sir." Then moved to his seat next to Euclase.

"Nori," instructor Branwen turned to the smaller, "you have problems reacting to things in your periphery, but other than that, good job. I'll be sure to tell Buff about it so we can get you some training for that."

"Thank you sir," she said and sat next to her cousin and aunt.

"Now, since that last fight ended so quick." He smirked at Verde who flashed him a gesture that would've gotten him thrown out the second-floor window if he tried that with Miss Meitnerium. "We've got time for maybe two more."

Mr. Branwen looked over the crowd of students before making eye contact with him. "Jaune?" he said, "wanna go a round?"

Jaune folded up his notes and grabbed Crocea Mors from the bench. He stood up and smiled, before speaking in a loud and clear voice, "Ready anytime, sir."

"Any takers?"

Yang raised her hand.

"No one else wants a piece of our exercise nut?" Silence. "No? Figures. Go ahead Yang, but please no collateral damage," he said. "Alright?"

"I make no such promises," Yang said with a wide grin.

Mr. Branwen sighed at the exchange, but the small smile said otherwise.

Jaune was walking down to the small ring when she jumped ahead, and landed with a gentle controlled grace despite the distance. He made it down a moment later.

Yang unfurled her bracelets into a pair of gauntlets, and Jaune unsheathed his sword. There was no point to hiding his scabbard turning into a shield, and he wanted to try something new. His opponent raised an eyebrow at his off-hand, and Jaune just shrugged.

"Feeling lucky?" Yang said.

"I'll just be painting myself a bigger target if I have it," he said. "Just like all the other times." He grimaced at the memories of Yang punching him through his guard. Then again, Yang punched through _everyone's_ guard, so it wasn't anything new. Especially with those shotgun shells of hers.

"Good point," she said.

There was a moment of silence as the two fell to their stances. Yang had her left foot forward and both hands up to a guard, and Jaune took a shorter stance. He put his left foot forward and kept his blade close to his chest, tip pointed at Yang. Her armored gauntlets would let her get close with a relative safety net so Jaune needed to control instead how she charged in.

Instructor Branwen came in with a fake cough. "Done with your little chit-chat, kiddies?"

The two nodded.

"Burning daylight here," he said. Yang blew raspberries at him. The instructor shrugged and waved at them both. "Yeah, yeah, just start already."

"Finally!" Yang said while firing both gauntlets behind her.

The resulting explosion and recoil drove her forward with a jerk, while Jaune stood his ground and watched as the girl zipped towards him. Her blonde hair flew about behind her like the sun's corona and the boy aimed his sword at her chest.

Jaune felt for the mass within and pulled it out of its sleep. There was a slow and heavy lurch as the cheers of his classmates zoomed out around him and Yang seemed to grind to a halt. The mass stirred in that moment, and from it came a trickle of warmth. Using aura was a strange experience, it wasn't like having something from point A travel to point B the way some Mistralian animes portrayed it. Instead, it was like turning a switch on—it was there the moment you asked of it.

Yang started to accelerate again, her arrayed hair coming to life as the wind pushed against her locks and the excited sounds of his fellow huntsmen and huntresses reached his ears again. The first trickle was small, like the beginnings of a shiver down to the core—and then, there was fire.

The girl resumed her bullet's pace and thrust her fist outward. His blade shone against the light and received the blow along the side with his off hand under the edge. He bled her momentum away from him, and used that to jump backward.

Yang stepped forward and followed up with her other hand, and Jaune raised his blade and swatted her fist away, stepping to the side. She kicked low and clipped Jaune in the knee, and he rolled away to put some distance between them. Yang wasn't their year's best fighter for nothing.

"Yeah, that didn't work," he said with a grimace. Jaune stood up and prepared his stance again, this time with the upper portion of his sword held in his off hand.

"It wasn't bad," Yang said with a shrug.

"Thanks," Jaune said while inching forward. The only thing he had going for him was stamina and aura, and Yang was better than him at in-fighting and her gauntlets and semblance made her more dangerous the more damaged she got.

"Ready for round two?" She slammed her fists together.

"Ladies first," he said.

She smirked at that and charged at him, opening up with the same right straight. Jaune whipped out with his sword, throwing the end with his other hand so Yang brought up her left to block and retract her right. The blade bounced off and Jaune checked Yang with his shoulder, throwing her off stance while shifting his grip from the hilt to the blade's end.

Yang recovered with a jab and Jaune took it in the face, keeping his eyes open through the pain, and swung Crocea Mors hilt first at Yang's head with everything he had.

He connected and knocked the blonde off balance, and took a big chunk of her aura out, putting her to the lower yellow zone.

Then her hair started glowing.

"Aw, man," he said.

"Better luck next time, Jaune."

He flew into the stands after that and the buzzer went off to signal his aura going to the red.


	4. Chapter 3

"This was a bad idea," Nori said. She had a ciabatta loaded with cured meats and vegetables she'd bought from the cafeteria food cart when it passed. Next to her was Euclase with a slice of pepperoni pizza, Verde with a box of fried rice, and Jaune with another two protein bars.

"What did you expect from someone who uses just a big shield fighting someone with a smaller but almost as big shield?" Verde said with a frown. He was pointing with his chopsticks at the fight with a passion.

Vida was using her large heater shield to swat Sphene away from her. The girl had a mean arm and an even meaner style of fighting, using her massive strength to tank blows and dish out counters. From the other side, Sphene would meet her shoves with his own shield then try to get a hit in with his arming sword. In terms of style, Sphene's was the closest to Jaune's, but his shield had an extra gimmick to it—just like everyone else.

Crocea Mors didn't do anything though, but that was more his not wanting to decide than for lack of trying to come up with something.

Sphene jumped back from their shoving match and put something to his mouth, after which he became wreathed in flames. The guy's semblance was to give his aura a fire element and empower his attacks with splashing heat, and what he'd taken was most likely a small pill of fire Dust.

"Senka's gonna have my ass for this," Mr. Branwen said.

The air around Sphene was distorting from the heat, and Vida unpacked her shield into its anti-material rifle form. The thing with fighting Vida was to either risk her using her semblance and strength to near literally rip you apart—because her semblance was friction—or to get shot to kingdom come with her gun. With Sphene, it was to not let him get close. Both fighters fought with the same dogmas but executed them in differently.

Sphene hid behind his shield and charged forward, but each of Vida's shots pushed him back and ate away at his aura. Jaune was reminded again of his father's words: aura isn't magic. The same aura that protected their bodies from harm was also the same aura that protected their weapons, clothes, and even fueled their semblances.

Verde was grumbling to the side, and Nori tried to wave down the irritable teen. "I can't get why that idiot keeps taking the shots straight on," he said. Verde stood up. "Angle your shield you idiot!" he said out loud.

Sphene started doing so and Mr. Branwen just chuckled while instructor Meitnerium gave a grudging shrug.

Just then Yang took her seat behind Jaune and she passed him a milkshake. "Oh," she said. "Vida and Sphene."

"Thanks Yang," Jaune said. "And yeah, Vida and Sphene."

"Yikes," the blonde said.

"Yikes is right," Nori said with a pout.

Vida fired shot after shot at Sphene and effectively brought him down by fifteen percent from the barrage alone. But with such large shells, she could only carry so much. Jaune knew she carried three clips of six shots each during normal spars, and she'd just unloaded two with this.

Sphene used that lull after the last shot to charge at Vida, fiery aura flared in full before inserting his sword into the tip of his heater shield. The mass of metal revealed sections along its surface and the entire thing folded out into a large axe, and the fire along the boy's body travelled up to the blade.

Another peculiarity to Sphene's semblance was that it caused his aura to become explosive after leaving his body—and combined with Dust…

Vida put up her shield and Sphene jumped into the air, axe head pointed back from him. The air behind him exploded and he was flung by the blast forward. In mid-air, Sphene turned his axe up, the almost as large as him weapon looking ominous flying towards the girl.

Vida stood her ground and angled her shield at him.

The air above Sphene exploded again and his axe head crashed downwards with a roar—

—then he flew straight up into the ceiling without his weapon and his aura going down to the mid-yellow zone while Vida was thrown back where they collided.

The buzzer went off when the girl stopped rolling.

Vida stood up after that and dusted her clothes clean before picking up the no longer burning axe off the ground. Sphene landed on his feet a moment later, and she passed him back his weapon.

Yang whistled at the outcome, Euclase nodded with his lips pressed together, and Nori puffed out what little chest she could. The others around them clapped at what happened.

"Win by disarming," Mr. Branwen said. "Vida, good one with that last hit, but that was some wild shooting earlier."

"What just happened?" Verde said, turning to Jaune. His eyebrows were knit together.

"For someone with four eyes, your visual acuity sure sucks," Nori said with a smirk.

"That's because my eyes _are_ bad," Verde said. "I was cleaning my damn lenses, pipsqueak."

Nori hmphed before doing her high society lady laugh, and ending with a sharp, "Pleb."

Yang ruffled Verde's hair. "She most likely used her semblance before receiving Sphene's attack, and then used herself as a fulcrum to counter with." She shot Jaune a sly look. "Isn't that right, 'Mister hit the pretty lady with the butt of my sword'?"

"I make no motion to deny that," Jaune said. "But it almost worked, didn't it?"

"I see," Verde said. "Damn, you lot are crazy."

Nori stuck her tongue out at him.

"Damn it still hurt, you know," she said with a pout.

Jaune raised an eyebrow. "I'll buy you lunch as an apology?"

"Deal." But Yang's smile softened the small blow to his wallet, and besides, he was sure she burned through more energy than him with how she was made to use her semblance.

Mr. Branwen ended the class then to get Ms. Yamahashi's help repairing the arena they all tore up, and Verde waived goodbye to their group with Euclase to go to Sphene and Auri for lunch. Nori and Vida also excused themselves to go with their aunt since they had food at home. So, it was him and Yang together for lunch.

And Ruby, Yang's little sister.

"Hi Jaune," Ruby said, her sing-song voice carrying easily in the not so crowded cafeteria.

Jaune was standing in line with Yang when he heard the greeting. He turned and saw a familiar pair of silver eyes, with her red hood and cape trailing behind her. It was the one most iconic piece he'd never seen the girl without. Signal was a small school so it didn't require a uniform, though they try to hide it by saying they're championing individuality instead. Posturing was a massive thing to Remnant's continuing sanity, and it was practically all they had going given how much more of the world was locked off to them.

"Hi Ruby," Jaune said, while Yang moved in to coddle her baby sister.

"Hey baby sister," the blonde cooed.

"Ugh, Yang." Ruby pushed off the blonde with a half-hearted effort, and the other fighting back with a fit of giggles and nuzzles. They eventually settled for Yang perching her chin on Ruby's head.

Jaune laughed at the two and Ruby's cheeks bloomed to a slight pink. "Not eating with your dad today?"

Yang was poking her sister's cheeks, who swatted her hands away with less enthusiasm than earlier. "Dad's out shopping for the party later," she said.

"More alcohol for your uncle?" Jaune put on a sheepish grin.

Ruby shrugged before rolling her eyes. "The day he'll say enough is enough is the day teacher Dimi gets a boyfriend."

"That was harsh sis," Yang said. "But I can't deny that."

Another thing with the life of a Huntsman or Huntress was that it was a lot harder for them to settle down, for… several reasons. Some just never found the time, and some—for all the strength they had—were just too afraid, at least, those were the usual stories.

"She's not a Meitnerium for nothing," Jaune said. Nori and Vida, together with their aunt hailed from the Meitnerium-Fluorite family, kind of like the Schnees except with weapons manufacturing instead of Dust in general. They aren't as well-known with the regular citizens, but every Huntsman or Huntress worth their salt knows that if you need something dead from way over there, it's Fabrique Mistral you want and nothing else.

"And who knows," Jaune continued, "she just might end up with your uncle for all we know."

Yang visibly shuddered. "Please no," she said. "Just thinking of those two together gives me the heebie-jeebies for some reason."

"Eh?" Ruby tilted her head at her sister. "Do you mean that in a _together_ together way? Like, _together_?" She dragged out the e's in that last word for as long as she could and added inflections Jaune knew shouldn't ever be used in that context.

"Hush Ruby," Yang said, "we do not speak of this again. And we're up."

The last person in front of him moved off the queue, and it was their turn next to order. He saw a giant of a man wearing a black tank top that emphasized his chiseled physique, his tanned skin contrasting against a platinum blonde head of cropped hair and the rugged chin with a just as pale stubble along the square jaw.

"Hey Jaune," Buff said with a booming bass. "Yang, Ruby." He nodded at the other two before turning back to the blond. "Please don't say the usual."

"Hi Buff," he said with a wry grin. "I'll have the usual." Buff Delmonico was the eldest instructor in Signal right after the principal and served as the physical trainer and nutritionist of the school. Though the unnecessary exposure was something everyone could do without.

"As much as I agree with your eating habits, I'd still rather have you be a cheeky brat." Jaune came to him before to whip up the simplest, and healthiest meal he could keep eating without having to think about things, and the man delivered. "But at least you're eating right." Buff huffed. "Eh, just feel free to cheat every now then, yeah?"

Buff set in front of him a tray with a sandwich loaded with lots of veggies and some thick slices of ham, a carton of milk, and a light soup. Yang went up next and got a bowl of beef noodles and a steamed bun, while Ruby got a plate of bread and jams and scrambled eggs plus a side of cookies and milk.

They got their trays and Jaune swiped his Scroll over the terminal to pay for all their food, since Enciel really spoils him with his allowance, then took their seats near the windows overlooking the courtyard. Ruby attacked her meal with a fervor soon after and Yang excused herself from Jaune to have a date with Mr. Beef Brisket.

Jaune picked up his sandwich and bit into it, the salt cured meats melding with the fatty mayo and basil. It was a fragrant and nutritious dish that Buff gave to anyone looking for a quick fix. Access to most foods wasn't that big a problem for the bigger cities thanks to Dust enhanced crops and vertical farms, and prices also stayed within reason though remain on the high side due to transportation and the general cost of living within the cities.

To a Hunter doing regular missions though, the money was always more than enough. Still, protection comes at a premium in Remnant, and whoever can't pay moves outward instead to the frontier towns and villages.

And yet he'd lost his mother anyway.

Huntsmen and Huntresses get major concessions and benefits from the government with just about anything really. Premium healthcare, the lowest interest rates on anything and everything, scholarships, and the biggest being the ownership of land. However, it didn't take a genius to understand the cons with having all your eggs in one basket.

Training humanity's defenders doesn't come cheap, and their salaries are by extension afforded by the people they serve. Bounties for the Hunter mission boards are paid for by the people or villages or companies that commission them, and then part of that is shouldered by the kingdom that rules them. The treatise of Vytal ensured that all Huntsmen and Huntresses would forever be tied to the great cause, but it was also that duty that burdened them all.

Jaune breathed out and relaxed his jaws. Patch was a beautiful place: the people were all so nice, nature was everywhere, and the weather was great all year round. There were also barely any to no Grimm attacks all throughout the year. But it wasn't by some miracle that they ended up moving here.

All new Hunters who wish to settle down were mandated by the treatise to maintain residence within their kingdom's frontier villages for at least ten years save for extenuating circumstances—and losing his mother counted towards that. It was the price they paid to become heroes, though not everyone got charged the same.

"Thinking about someone?" Yang said. She was looking at him. Focused. Not in the diffuse way one would someone they had no regard for—even though she had a nice bowl of food in front of her.

Ruby stopped her ravenous feasting to stare for a second before eating at a slower and more mannered way.

"Oh," Jaune said, "you know, just the usual." He licked the mayonnaise that spilled over to his fingers and smiled at his friend.

Yang narrowed her eyes at him, nose crinkling just a tiny bit before she settled back into her seat. Her eyes darted left before she snorted and said, "Thinking about Vida?"

"That was out of left field," Jaune said.

"Thanks for the heads-up captain obvious. And you'd have told me otherwise anyway."

Jaune felt a tug at the corner of his lips, a half-smile he eased out by the blonde. She had a way with words to get people to trust her, and no one in the class had any bad blood with her despite the girl beating most of everyone with her fists most of the time. They were violent beatings, yes, but none were ever out of spite. Pride sometimes, but never out of contempt. She was their big ball of sunshine—or pair. Whatever.

"Hey, eyes up here Jauney," she said.

"Lewd," Ruby said.

"And your sister knows this how?" Jaune said,

"She's fourteen with access to the CCT network, what'd you expect?"

"Good point."

#

They finished their lunch and went back their separate ways, Jaune did as he always did: exercise while taking notes. While everyone else pretty much just lazed around, Vida and Auri picking up slack for their small class, and Verde and Sphene always dishing out more information than necessary once Aura Theory rolled along with Mr. Xiao Long.

After all that, sir Taiyang ended classes that day with a reminder about the coming end of term exams two weeks from now and graduation a week after. It was almost shocking to have him be reminded of that, how four years passed in a blur, all things considered. It was high time Jaune stepped up to the big leagues, and Beacon wasn't so far away now. Though of course, he still needed to pass the entrance exams.

Then, Yang's father also invited anyone interested over to her uncle Qrow's birthday party—which everyone already knew would be a bust somehow. Last year it ended with a small forest fire which Ms. Yamahashi thankfully put out with her semblance.

Jaune attended the party anyway despite his gut feeling telling him not to—more for Yang. But there was a small and morbidly curious part of him that wanted to see things how terrible things could get this time around.

And the party didn't disappoint.

There was underaged drinking involved, and a certain someone ended up punching another someone across the floor and starting a brawl which Mr. Branwen encouraged. Everyone had their auras unlocked—even their dog, Zwei—so no one really got hurt unless someone got serious. Nori then proceeded to wipe the floor with Sphene, and Jaune was reminded _exactly_ why the girls in their class were the scariest. Auri wasn't there to be the voice of reason, and Verde was just as nasty as Yang with fanning the flames—so on the fight went until someone gave up.

There was a lot of fire and upturned earth before teacher Dimi broke up the fight. The last straw was when the smaller of the two threatened to break the other's ribs one by one with all the people there confident she could do so sober, inebriated though, no one wanted to find out. It was a peace he knew skirted over thin ice, but one everyone appreciated anyway.

He opened the door to their home, tired but happy—but instead of the usual empty house, there was his father waiting for him with the same lethargic regard. Enciel's Huntsman activities usually lasted until around seven in the evening, and six had been his earliest ever since. It wasn't ideal, but Jaune learned to take care of himself eventually, since no one else would.

"Hey dad," he said, pleasantly surprised. "You're early today." He took off his shoes and put them away by the racks.

"We have a guest," Enciel said. Jaune only now noticed the other pair of boots to by the side. "And, I'm sure you'll be real thrilled once you see who."

His father ushered him into the living room where he saw a silhouette he could only remember from half-forgotten dreams. The man turned, and he saw a smile that shone brighter than anything.

"Hello, Jaune," All Might said.


End file.
